Sacked Goa RSS chief Subhash Velingkar floats new state unit, appoints loyalists as office bearers

Panaji: Former RSS Goa unit chief Subhash Velingkar on Thursday floated new state unit and appointed all his supporters, who had resigned from the right-wing body expressing solidarity with him, as the new office bearers.

Velingkar had this morning accused Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar of “cheating the Hindus” in the state.

Velingkar, who has been a vocal critic of the BJP dispensation here, was relieved apparently over his plans to launch a party, according to a Hindustan Times report.

He was chief of Goa wing of the RSS for nearly two decades.

Velingkar, who denies having any political ambitions, was quoted as saying that he intends to take on the BJP in a political battle.

Apparently, at least 400 RSS volunteers have already quit in his support, in a move that could raise concerns in the ruling BJP ahead of next year’s state elections.

Hindus who put their faith in the BJP and Parrikar, a former Goa chief minister and the BJP’s most prominent face in the state, feel “cheated”, Velingkar said.

Velingkar, a former teacher who has been demanding education in mother tongue, said the RSS cadre was upset with Parrikar’s “intent to seek voting rights for minorities who have opted for dual citizenship”.

He further alleged that Parrikar micromanages the administration of the state and has not allowed current chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar to withdraw grants to schools with English as the medium of instruction.

Velingkar further stated that the RSS cadre in the state was not pleased with the minority appeasement by the current dispensation.